Equity International, GTI invest $75m in Indian hotel developer

EI CEO Gary Garrabrant said the real estate investor intends to establish SAMHI as the leading hotel property company in India, and described the local market as "highly compelling". SAMHI, meanwhile, was impressed by EI's track record and its reputation for being an active shareholder.

Based in Gurgaon, near Delhi, the firm specializes in acquiring and renovating hotels across India for use by business travelers. It was founded by CEO Ashish Jakhanwala, Manav Thadani, chairman of HVS India, and Steve Rushmore, who also established hospitality consultancy HVS.

SAMHI represents GTI's first investment in the field of hospitality and aptly demonstrates its strategy of backing strong Indian management teams, according to co-founder and general partner Gaurav Burman.

Travel and tourism within India are expected to grow rapidly over the coming years in line with soaring GDP growth and the rapidly urbanizing population. The hospitality sector is forecast to double in size by 2018, as the country currently has among the lowest demand for hotel rooms in the world.

New board members at SAMHI include EI's Christopher Fiegen and Vijay Jayaraman, Ashish Jakhanwala, Manav Thadani, and Burman and Gaurav Dalmia of GTI. EI invested the capital via its Singapore arm.

This round follows on from GTI's provision of $16 million of Series A funding last May for Nova Medical Centres, a Bangalore-based surgical services provider, alongside New Enterprise Associates (NEA). GTI was said to be Nova's largest stakeholder, with just under 50%, compared to a 20% stake for NEA.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• South Asia
• Real estate
• Early-stage
• India
• Venture
• Real estate